


Wherein Loki Falls Off the Face of Asgard

by htonl



Series: Fluid in Form, Fluid in Mind [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), au where loki doesn't want the throne or stab thor or anything, loki loves his brother and you can't change my mind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 10:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18809563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/htonl/pseuds/htonl
Summary: A rewrite of the first Thor movie where Loki doesn't hate Thor and canon doesn't matter.





	Wherein Loki Falls Off the Face of Asgard

**Author's Note:**

> Marvel did Loki dirty, and I'm going to fix it.

Loki stared at Odin, vision blurred through tears. “Who… who am I?”

Odin sat heavily on the top stair of the vault. “Technically speaking, you are Laufey’s son. A frost giant. But, Loki… I found you abandoned, after that last battle. It is the way of frost giants to leave their malformed children in the snow, to keep the rest strong. Laufey would never have been a father to you. I… you may not be my son by blood, but you are a son of my heart, Loki. I love you, and wish only the best for you.”

Loki blinked, feeling wet tracks trace down his cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He looked down at the casket, the prize of the frost giants and the source of their power. His hands and arms were blue where they basked in its light. He felt cold.

“I know I should have, and I apologize, but...” Odin shook his head. “I do not know. There just… never seemed to be the right time. You were too small to understand, and then you were having such fun with your brother, and then you were all grown up and… I was afraid, perhaps, of how you would react. That if you thought we were not your family, you would turn your back on us and return to Jotunheim, or decide to live somewhere else, far away from us. From me.”

Loki didn’t know what to think. This news was too big for him to process alone, and he did not want to talk it over with Odin. Nor Frigga… “Does Mother know?”

“How could she not?” Odin gave a helpless little laugh. “She wanted to tell you from the beginning, of course, but I overruled her. You were always her favorite, you know. Sometimes I think she loves you more than life itself.”

Something small and hard was lodged in Loki’s chest. He took deep breaths to try to drive it out. “She loves me so, but she let you stop her from telling me that my entire life has been a lie, a… a silly _fantasy_ , designed to fool a _child_. You say _you_ love me, but you were the one who constructed the lie! Does Thor know?”

Odin looked stricken. He struggled to answer. “… He… Thor, no, he does not. I did not tell him, I suppose, for the same reasons I did not tell you. I could not tell one of you without telling the other, after all.”

“So you chose to tell neither of us.” Loki was still staring at his hands, unseeing. “You kept this secret for a millenium and a half, because you were too cowardly to tell your sons that you have been lying to them. And every day, every year, every century you waited only made it worse. Because here is the thing, Father,” and now Loki was yelling, suddenly, turning to face Odin, furious and confused and hurt and speaking without knowing what he said, “the thing is that now it has been _one thousand and five hundred years_ of you lying, straight to our faces, every day, saying that we are one happy family when really you just found me in the snow one day and decided to take the poor foundling home! Why, Father? _Why_? Why did you bring Laufey’s son into your home and give him your name? _Why?_ ”

Odin’s face had been paling throughout Loki’s rant. On Loki’s last, desperate _why_ , he collapsed. His eyes closed. His face went slack. Loki stared, for a moment unable to move – and then the cold freezing his bones seemed to unlock. He grabbed the frost giants’ casket and tucked it into one of his extradimensional pockets before calling for the guard. Once they had arrived and Loki was certain Odin was merely in the Odinsleep and not dead or badly hurt, he fled. He fled to the Bifrost and to Heimdall and the possibility of solace.

“Heimdall,” Loki panted, having just run into the chamber at the end of the Bifrost. “Were your eyes turned to the vault just now?”

Heimdall’s golden eyes pierced straight through Loki. “They were not. I know only that your father has fallen once more to the Odinsleep. Will you tell me what happened?”

Loki shook his head. “We had a fight. I cannot… has Odin forbidden visits to Thor in exile?”

Heimdall considered Loki for a long moment before shaking his head. “He has not. You wish to visit because of this fight that caused the Odinsleep?”

“Yes. No… There is a lot that has happened in the last day, Heimdall. I need to… I cannot talk to anyone but Thor about this. Please, allow me to go to Midgard. Even with Thor in exile, I am certain that we can sort this out.”

Heimdall considered for another long moment before sheathing his sword in the mechanism of the Bifrost and turning it like a key.

“To Midgard, then, Loki. I will keep an eye on things. Do let me know how everything turns out.”

Loki nodded his thanks and ran for the Bifrost.

\---

Thor was not having his usual grand time visiting Midgard. He had explained to Jane the Scientist that he was the God of Thunder, Thor Odinson, and that he merely needed to find his hammer and get back to Asgard. She did not believe him. In fact, she seemed to think him mad. Darcy the Intern was having more fun, taking pictures on her small electronic device and talking about how “ripped” Thor was. He did not know what “ripped” meant, but he was fairly certain he had seen something like her electronic device in a museum once. She called it a “fone”. Thor was impressed humans had made such vast technological advances in his lifetime.

But now Thor was wandering down the street of the small Midgardian town he was stuck in, and he was not sure what to do next. Jane had refused to take him to Mjolnir, so he needed to find some alternate transportation. He was fairly certain he could figure out how to pilot one of these “kars” - it couldn’t be very different from a small starship – but all the “kars” seemed to belong to somebody, and it would be very rude to just take one. He had just seen a shop with several animals inside and decided to ask there for a horse when something in the air changed. Thor’s head went up like a hound who had just caught a scent. He turned on the spot, scanning the sky.

Sure enough, there in the distance – the Bifrost! It was just touching down, probably in about the same spot as where Thor had landed. Who was coming to Midgard, so soon after Thor himself had been sent here?

Jane found him standing on the sidewalk, staring intently at the distant sky. “Thor!” she yelled from the window of her van. “Still need a ride?”

Thor gave himself a small shake and pulled his attention away from the Bifrost, now retreating. “I do, in fact,” he said. “But Mjolnir must wait. Could you take me to the spot where I arrived on the Bifrost?”

Jane blinked. She appeared confused. Thor could appreciate why. She was obviously not accustomed to the dealings of gods. “You mean the spot where you fell out of the sky? Like, I mean… yeah, I _could_ , but didn’t you want to go get that satellite thing just a minute ago?”

“A minute ago, yes, I did. However, I have just seen the Bifrost touch down once more, which means that someone else has arrived on Midgard.” Thor smiled broadly at Jane to ease her mind as he boarded her vehicle. “Do not worry, Jane the Scientist. I am Thor, son of Odin! Even without Mjolnir, there is very little that I cannot handle.”

Jane gave Thor a very strange look. After a moment, she said, “Okay dude, whatever you say. Some government assholes took my research, so I’m willing to do a whole lot right now. I just hope you know what you’re doing.” With that, she started the van and pulled away onto the dusty road out of town.

\---

When the dust of his landing cleared, Loki found himself standing in a desert. There were several black and silver and glass vehicles parked near the Bifrost’s touchdown marking, and several men in black clothes with black lenses on their faces pointing small black blasters at him. When had humans gotten their hands on blaster technology? And why on Asgard were they all so fond of black? It was a terrible color for the desert.

One of the men, one without a blaster or lenses, stepped forward and took a white cone from another man, one with lenses but without a blaster. The first man held the cone up to his mouth. “You are in violation of SHEILD statute 1523D,” he said. The cone amplified his voice much more than it could have done without magic. If the man wanted to be loud, why did he not simply shout, or come closer? “You will remain where you are. You will allow us to take you to an undisclosed secure location. You will...”

Loki tuned the man out. He was not Thor, and therefore an inconsequential Midgardian. Loki needed to talk to Thor. He considered his options for a moment, but there was really only one choice he could possibly make. It was a favorite trick of his. He walked away, invisible, and left an illusion of himself behind. That should keep those men who so loved the color black occupied for a few minutes, at least. Or until the man with the cone got tired of hearing himself speak.

As Loki snuck around the men and their vehicles, he cast a spell that he did not use very often. It would direct him to Thor, no matter the distance between them. As it took hold, however, Loki found that Thor didn’t feel very far away at all. He appeared to be… in that dust cloud…?

Loki left the men in black behind and headed for the dust cloud. Coincidentally, the dust cloud was also heading for Loki. At the head of the dust cloud – causing it, in fact – was a vehicle appearing to be of similar operation as the black vehicles that the men had had. This vehicle, however, was white, much bigger, and (Loki checked the spell) contained her brother. Loki glanced behind herself at the men, judged the distance to be great enough, and made herself visible. She did not, however, dispel the illusion of herself on the Bifrost touchdown marking. The men appeared to be taking turns talking into the cone; hopefully they would be occupied for at least a few moments longer.

The white vehicle pulled up beside Loki. A door in its side slid open. Inside the vehicle was Thor, looking baffled.

“Loki?” he asked. “What on Asgard are you doing here?”

Loki choked down her immediate response and hopped into the vehicle, pulling the door shut behind him. “Talk later, leave now,” she said. “My illusion will not fool those men for much longer -”

Sure enough, angry shouts rose from the men. They appeared to have attempted to put metal bracelets on Loki’s illusion. It had not worked.

The woman in the front seat – a position that seemed to mean she controlled the vehicle – shouted, “Those are the men that stole my research! What’d you do to piss them off?”

Thor pointed back the way the vehicle had come. “Loki seems to have played a trick. She does that. Please, Jane, let us leave now. Not for Mjolnir – it seems we must talk, Loki and I. Might we go to your lab?”

The woman (Jane, apparently) jerked as if startled. Since she did start driving away from the Bifrost and the men in black after a moment, Loki was content.

“So you two know each other, then?” she asked, eyeing Loki in a mirror hung from the ceiling.

“Of course, my lady Jane,” Loki said. “We are brothers.”

“Not just now, we aren’t,” Thor said. He seemed amused. “Also, Loki, this is Jane the Scientist. She does not like being called anyone’s lady.”

Loki looked down at herself, startled. “Oh,” she said. “When did that happen?” She paused, then shook her head. “In any case, Jane the Scientist, Thor is my brother, and just now, I am his sister. I am Loki Od… Loki, the Goddess of Mischief. A pleasure to meet you.”

Thor’s brow furrowed. Jane seemed at a loss for words. Loki did not mind. She did not care about Jane just now. “Thor, you mentioned a lab? Is this a place where we may speak without interruption?”

Thor nodded. The concern in his eyes grew. “Darcy the Intern and Erik Selvig will be there, but they are trustworthy. So is Jane.”

“Good,” said Loki. “We have much to speak about, brother. A great deal has happened on this day.”

\---

By the time they had all arrived at Jane’s lab, Loki was a man again. Thor commented on his rapid shifts, but Loki waved him off. Jane seemed baffled.

“Weren’t you a lady just a bit ago?” she asked as they walked into the lab.

“I was. I am the God of Mischief, the Trickster; my form changes often.” Loki scanned the interior of this building. It was nice, for a Midgardian abode. A little bare. Had not Jane said something about those men in black stealing something from her?

“You’re back!” someone shouted. Loki whirled, startled, his daggers appearing in his hands. Thor gave a mighty laugh and clapped a hand on Loki’s shoulder.

“Do not worry, brother! It is only Darcy the Intern! She is loud sometimes, but she is no threat!” Loki’s questing eyes finally landed on a young woman standing by a table. Seated at the table was an older man. Loki relaxed and tucked his daggers back into their extradimensional sheathes.

“If that is Darcy the Intern, then this must be Erik Selvig,” he said. “A pleasure to meet you both, of course. I am Loki, the God of Mischief.” Loki bowed briefly.

Erik Selvig looked poleaxed. He stood, grabbed Jane and Darcy’s arms, and pulled them into a whispered conference. Loki glanced at Thor, who gave him a bewildered look and a shrug. Loki shrugged back and grabbed Thor, pulling him over to a nearby couch.

“Loki, what is wrong?” Thor asked as they sat down, voice low. “Did Father send you here too? What has happened?”

“Thor, I…” Loki looked at his hands, then at Thor’s face. “Fath… Odin has fallen to the Odinsleep. He… I… when we went to Jotunheim, one of the frost giants grabbed me.”

Thor’s eyes widened. “The Odinsleep? Is he well? Are _you_ well? Why did you not mention this before?”

“He is fine. I think. I did not stay to see, once I knew it was the Odinsleep… I will get there. Let me tell you what hap – I did not mention the frost giant because I was not hurt. I was – I will show you.” Loki pulled the frost giants’ casket out, placing it on the seat between him and Thor. Thor’s eyes widened even further. From the corner of the room where the Midgardians huddled, a gasp was audible. Loki ignored them. They were not what mattered in this moment.

“Loki, _what_ are you doing with the casket? Did you steal this from Father’s vault? What trick are you playing?”

“No trick, brother! Look…” Loki brought his hands close to the blue glowing center of the casket. The light flared, and the deep blue of the frost giants’ skin began crawling its way up Loki’s hands. Thor’s jaw dropped. Loki continued, sounding rather desperate. “When the frost giant grabbed me, _this_ happened. I did not know what to think – I snuck into the vault to do this, to see if the casket had a similar effect on me, and – Odin found me there. He told me...”

Abruptly, Loki drew his hands away from the casket. The healthy Asgardian tone returned to his fingers. He stared at them. “I am Laufey’s son, Thor. Not Odin’s. Odin found me abandoned after that last battle – I am a frost giant, but I am a runt, and the frost giants leave their malformed offspring to the elements. I would have died, but instead, Odin brought me to Asgard.”

Thor was silent for a moment. “… Does Mother know?”

Loki nodded jerkily.

“Why… did – did Father tell you? Why he brought you to Asgard, why he did not tell you of this before?”

“He… I was upset, brother, and I raised my voice, and… I do not know, perhaps it was the stress of the situation, but… that is when he fell to the Odinsleep. I called the guard, and I waited to know it was the Odinsleep, but after that…” Loki shook his head and raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “I could not talk to Mother. Odin said that she had wanted to tell me – tell us – from the beginning, but he overruled her. She _allowed_ him to keep this from me – from _us!_ \- for _fifteen hundred years_ , Thor!” Loki found that he was on his feet, fists clenched, trembling with rage. “A _millenium and a half_ , and they _lied_ to us every day!”

Thor stood. He put his hands on Loki’s shoulders. “I see why you felt the need to come to Midgard,” he said solemnly. “Loki, I am certain that they had their reasons, for all of it. Regardless of their reasons, regardless of your origins – Loki, know that this changes nothing between us. This changes nothing about you. I will always be your brother, and you will always be my sibling. Laufeyson or Odinson, you are still the Trickster, who has so angered so many people over the centuries. You stole Mjolnir, and the Lady Sif’s hair, and you are impossible to catch when I am enraged at you. I love you, and I know that Mother and Father do too. Nothing could ever change that.” Thor regarded Loki for a moment longer, then pulled him into a hug.

Loki remained stiff for a moment before nearly collapsing into Thor’s embrace. “Thank you, brother,” he murmured into Thor’s shoulder.

There was a long moment as Loki and Thor embraced; but the silence was broken all too soon by Darcy the Intern’s cough.

“So like… should we go? This seems like kind of a private bro moment,” she said. Loki looked over to see that she, Jane, and Erik Selvig were still standing over by the table. They looked like they would rather be anywhere else. Loki sighed and reluctantly drew out of Thor’s arms.

“No, no… you Midgardians, you are fine, we are finished.” Loki glanced down, remembered the casket, and tucked it back away. Extradimensional pockets were one of the best tricks he had ever learned.

“Not to gloss over the extreme weirdness of _literal mythical figures_ having some family drama in the lab, but what’re you guys gonna do now?” Darcy drawled. She blew a bubble with whatever she was chewing and popped it. Loudly. Erik Selvig winced.

“Yes, thank you, Darcy. Loki, Mjolnir is also here, and Jane is willing to take us there. The Midgardian government is sticking its nose in, but we can thwart them! We have performed greater feats!” Thor grinned widely. “And once I have Mjolnir, we shall return to Asgard!”

Loki shook his head. “Brother, Odin has exiled you for your actions on Jotunheim. At the least, it will not be so simple to retrieve Mjolnir; I could not hear what was said, but I am certain that Odin cast a spell on it, altered its power somehow, before throwing it to Midgard after you.” They paused and gave themself a shake as their gender changed and their body changed with it. “Pardon me. He was very upset with you, and rightly so, I might add.”

“What – uh,” said Erik Selvig. He appeared disconcerted by the full force of both Loki’s and Thor’s gazes upon him, but pushed through admirably. “Sorry, don’t mean to be rude, but what happened? It’s just that, uh, my family is Scandinavian and I grew up with Norse mythology, and I’ve never heard of any story where Thor – where, um, the God of Thunder gets kicked out of Asgard.”

“Ah! A Viking, are you?” Thor laughed in his full-bellied way. “It is wonderful to have met you, cousin!”

“Some frost giants broke into Odin’s vault during Thor’s coronation yesterday,” interrupted Loki. “Stopped it short before Thor could be crowned. They were likely after the casket, and were unlikely to be affiliated with the Jotun crown. We do not know who they were, and they did not get what they came for, but Thor here” - Loki clapped Thor on the back - “decided it would be a grand idea to lead a raid on Jotunheim, to teach the rest of the frost giants a lesson.”

“It _was_ a grand idea!” Thor protested. “If the Jotuns are getting bold enough that even a small faction are willing to break in to Father’s vault, in the heart of Asgard, then we must prove to them that we are not weak! If many suffer due to the actions of a few, the many will cause the few to change their ways!”

Loki rolled their eyes. “Really not the most inspired idea you’ve ever come up with, brother. You see, Erik Selvig, the king of Jotunheim has chosen to take Thor’s raid as an act of war. Father… Odin has spent the last several millenia attempting to avoid war with the Jotuns. He was very upset.”

“So he stripped me of my power and title and exiled me to Midgard.” Thor seemed very disgruntled about this.

“He would not have spelled Mjolnir and cast it down behind you if he did not intend to give you a way back to Asgard,” said Loki. “Very interested in second chances, is Odin.”

The three humans shared a glance. After a moment, Jane said, “Well, it sounds like you guys want to go get this Mjolnir thing. I can still give you a ride there, if you want?”

Thor smiled. “We greatly appreciate this, Jane Foster. Thank you. Loki?” He turned to his sibling and gestured towards the door and the van waiting beyond.


End file.
